Telangana Industries Dept punishes corrupt official, sends a message
HYDERABAD: The Industries Department recently decided to send a stern message by ordering the prosecution of an employee at a District Industries Centre in Mahabubabad, who was caught accepting a bribe. Like other sections of the government, the Industries Department too has had its share of corruption cases and has been trying to weed out such practices by taking strict measures.
Vuppula Veeresham, who worked as the General Manager of the District Industries Center from October 2016 to January 2019, allegedly demanded a bribe from Dharavath Bagna, a farmer residing in the Teekya thanda of Pedda Vangara mandal, Mahabubabad district, in return for the release of subsidy given by the State government.
In 2016, Dharavath bought a harvester machine and the next year, he submitted online documents for receiving the subsidy amount for the vehicle under the T-Pride scheme. He was then contacted by Veeresham to conduct further inquiries regarding the veracity of the subsidy application. Later that year, Dharavath was informed that his application was approved and he would receive the money when funds were available.
An year passed, but the funds were not released. Dharavath made numerous enquiries regarding the status of the subsidy. He was asked to carry out further formalities and fill more forms by Veeresham, which he duly completed.
During the last week of December 2018, Veeresham inspected Dharavath’s vehicle and informed him that the verification report was uploaded by him onto the Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System site. Then he allegedly demanded a bribe of `12,000 from Dharavath for uploading the verification certificate, and said that Dharavath would receive the subsidy only if he complied.
Dharavath recorded a video of the General Manager’s demands and approached the Anti Corruption Bureau in Warangal for justice. Accordingly, the ACB laid a trap and caught Veeresham red-handed with the bribe money. Earlier this week, the Industries Department accorded sanction to the ACB to prosecute Veeresham for the offence.